Antique Cattaraugus Knives and Company History

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Primble said:
Cattaraugus 21489 Swell End Jack Knife, 3.20 inches closed:
Cattaraugus66_zpscqsexozl.jpg

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A beauty for sure Mr. Primble !!!!! It would would be a hard choice between this one and the one on the Bottom Row and Far Right in your display picture !!! The thing that I really like about Bareheaded jacks is that they have more length of covers , be it Good Jigging , Stag , or Wood , or whatever. And as you say , Catt. Made some great jigging along with the Indian Trails.
Question for you please : Do you have an approximate time as to when they went from iron or steel liners to brass ????
Thanks again for the great thread and pictures!!!!

Harry
 
Old Engineer said:
A beauty for sure Mr. Primble !!!!! It would would be a hard choice between this one and the one on the Bottom Row and Far Right in your display picture !!! The thing that I really like about Bareheaded jacks is that they have more length of covers , be it Good Jigging , Stag , or Wood , or whatever. And as you say , Catt. Made some great jigging along with the Indian Trails.
Question for you please : Do you have an approximate time as to when they went from iron or steel liners to brass ????
Thanks again for the great thread and pictures!!!!

Harry
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Harry - in my 1921 Catalog most of the knives were brass lined with NS bolsters. Some were brass lined with Iron bolsters. Seldom were they iron lined and iron bolstered. The Barlows were the later and a few others. From my collection, only two were iron lined and iron bolstered, one was the Barlow and the other is the 4" Jack knife above with the long pull. There seems no rhyme or reason to it. Just when they felt like it. While the hammered vs. spun pins are likely a reliable indicator of age, I don't think we could conclude that of the iron liners and bolsters. ;):)

I do like both of those two knives you referenced. For carry, I prefer the 3.2" closed knife above vs. the 4" closed knife above it. Plus the smaller knife has my very favorite Catt shield. No other manufacturer had a badge shield exactly like it, or if they did, I have never seen another brand with it.

Thank you for your comments ! :)
 
Beautiful Catts my friend and that sure is a lot of money ! :thumbup::)
 
According to my Cattaraugus catalog, the 11849 had "Hunters Pride" etched on the clip when new Mr. Harry. :thumbup::thumbup:;):)

Very nice color on the bone !
 
Primble said:
According to my Cattaraugus catalog, the 11849 had "Hunters Pride" etched on the clip when new Mr. Harry. :thumbup::thumbup:;):)

Very nice color on the bone !
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Thanks Mr. Primble : I have seen pictures of 3 differant ones on the net with Hunters Pride on them . Some of them had a lined bolster and 1 had a smooth bolster. Somebody showed a picture out of a catalogue that said that it was even Stag . I did not remember any of the 3 pictures that I saw looking like Stag. Mine certainly does not to me and apparently it looks like Bone to you too. Thanks for the great thread my friend !!!!! This is not my first Catt . , but is my first Catt Folder and right now I feel like a kid in an ice cream parlor with money to spend.

Harry
 
Old Engineer said:
I did not remember any of the 3 pictures that I saw looking like Stag. Mine certainly does not to me and apparently it looks like Bone to you too. Thanks for the great thread my friend !!!!! This is not my first Catt . , but is my first Catt Folder and right now I feel like a kid in an ice cream parlor with money to spend.

Harry
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In their early catalogs (pre WWII), many of the American cutleries referred to jigged bone as "patent stag", "bone stag", and "stag", including New York Knife Company and Cattaraugus. Unsure as to why they called bone stag, but, they did it rather frequently. ;):)

Careful about the kid in the parlor - you might end up poor like me. ;):D:D:D:D
 
Primble said:
In their early catalogs (pre WWII), many of the American cutleries referred to jigged bone as "patent stag", "bone stag", and "stag", including New York Knife Company and Cattaraugus. Unsure as to why they called bone stag, but, they did it rather frequently. ;):)

Careful about the kid in the parlor - you might end up poor like me. ;):D:D:D:D
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Roberto, I think it was because it gave bone the look and grip of real stag. Bone was cheap and more abundant than stag.

Man, I got to get me a Catt! :eek::D
 
GeV: Great handles on both those knives.

Rob: stunning Catts and pics, as always.

Harry: I really like the jigging on that big boy.

Thanks for sharing such great pics. :thumbup:
 
RobbW said:
GeV: Great handles on both those knives.

Rob: stunning Catts and pics, as always.

Harry: I really like the jigging on that big boy.

Thanks for sharing such great pics. :thumbup:
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Thank you kindly, Robb:thumbup::thumbup::D Much appreciated
 
RobbW said:
GeV: Great handles on both those knives.

Rob: stunning Catts and pics, as always.

Harry: I really like the jigging on that big boy.

Thanks for sharing such great pics. :thumbup:
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Thank you very much Robb !!!! :)
 
Thank you Robb ! 👍:)

Unsatisfied with all previous pics of this knife, I took some new pics this morning of my Cattaraugus Swell End Jack Knife, model 22479, pre WWII:
I think I finally captured the exact color of this one.
There is a faint etch on the blade that says "The Reading Railroad" :
 
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Primble said:
Thank you Robb ! :thumbup::)

Unsatisfied with all previous pics of this knife, I took some new pics this morning of my Cattaraugus Swell End Jack Knife, model 22479, pre WWII:
I think I finally captured the exact color of this one.
There is a faint etch on the blade that says "The Reading Railroad" :

1zmz7cx.jpg


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By Jove , I think you've got it !!!!!

Harry
 
Nice Closeup and Photo, Rob!! Fine work and a worthy knife!!
Can I use the photos as examples of worm groove, to send to GEC??

Did you know that Cattaraugus used disc shields on their HJs?
Not always, but often!!

Catt%20HJs%201_zpsra7ertfe.jpg
 
Gevo, Harry, and Charlie - many thanks ! Did you notice that them indians trailed right under the shield on my knife ? :confused:;):D

Charlie - I did know about the disc shields, but, only because there are three of them pictured in one of my old catalogs.

All three with disc shields were harness jacks.

Thank you for posting those fine examples Charlie and as always, feel free to use the pics.

I found a little jackknife story in one of my catalogs I wanted to share with some of you Catt fans:
 
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Primble said:
Unsatisfied with all previous pics of this knife, I took some new pics this morning of my Cattaraugus Swell End Jack Knife, model 22479, pre WWII:
I think I finally captured the exact color of this one.
There is a faint etch on the blade that says "The Reading Railroad" :

1zmz7cx.jpg
Click to expand...

Rob, we all benefit from your dissatisfaction! Superlative photos of a superlative knife. Those handles are exceptional--a feller could get lost in those crags and crevices!, and I love the connection to the Reading Railroad. It makes me think of my grandfather's career with the Union Pacific Railroad, and also the Monopoly board game! :D :thumbup:

waynorth said:
Can I use the photos as examples of worm groove, to send to GEC??

Catt%20HJs%201_zpsra7ertfe.jpg
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Great HJs as always, Charlie!

And I hope I know where you're going with those worm-groove exemplars. If GEC can make handles half that stunning on the 2016 knife I'll be a very happy camper!
 
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